Abstract

As the global population gets older, joint-related health concerns are increasingly common, such as osteoarthritis causing pain and reducing mobility. Collagen peptides have been proposed as nutraceuticals to improve joint health in patients with osteoarthritis. We performed a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in elderly women with mild-to-moderate knee osteoarthritis and showed that the oral intake of collagen peptides (Peptan®) for a duration of 6 months significantly reduces joint pain and improves physical mobility as assessed by two well-established scoring systems (WOMAC and Lysholm score). This study confirms that collagen peptides are a highly efficient nutraceutical to improve joint health which can help to maintain an active lifestyle throughout ageing.

INTRODUCTION

Population ageing
Worldwide, the population is increasingly ageing, with a greater proportion of people getting old and old people reaching an even higher age than before. In 2009, 10% of the population were 60 years and older and this fraction is estimated to increase up to 20% by 2050 (1). This demographic development is associated with an increase in age-related diseases (2) concurrently building a strong case for the maintenance of health throughout ageing and the focus of interest of the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industry.

Osteoarthritis
One age-related disease with rising prevalence is osteoarthritis with 10% of all men and 20% of all women over 60 years old already suffering from it today (3). Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease of the articular cartilage in joints of the knee, hip, spine and hand. Pain, stiffness and locking of the joint are key symptoms reducing mobility and strongly impacting on the quality of life of the patient.
The hyaline cartilage of the joint consists mainly of extracellular matrix composed of collagen, proteoglycans (e.g. aggrecan ...